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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: mark · vault · fork · spell · rule · mate · saw · last

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. last — finally
  3. saw — the tool
  4. saw — the tool
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. mate — a partner
  8. spell — letters
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. spell — a short time
  11. mate — a friend
  12. mark — a grade
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. vault — a safe
  15. rule — a law
  16. mark — a trace
  17. last — to go on
  18. last — final
  19. spell — magic
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. fork — in a road
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. rule — government

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com